The Fish Can Sing

Alfgrim was an abandoned child whose mother gave birth to him in the turf cottage of Bjorn of Brekkukot, the fisherman, on the outskirts of Reykjavk. This is the tale of Alfgrim's boyhood and youth in the home of his grandparents in the early years of the twentieth century. It is a hospitable place, where dignified understatement is the norm and everything from a lumpfish to a Bible has a fixed price that never changes.

When Alfgrim goes to school and begins to learn Latin and music, he comes into contact with new attitudes toward the currencies of gold and language. The reigning spirit in this new world is the singer Gardar Holm, whose fantastic successes throughout the world have become a source of pride to his countrymen. Alfgrim's encounters with the singer only serve to make Gardar and his fame more mysterious and ambiguous.

A beautifully crafted tale by Iceland's finest writer.